The survey conducted by independent auditing firms with each of CitrusBR associate member companies and consolidated by external auditing ascertained that global inventories of Brazilian orange juice, converted into Frozen Concentrated Orange Juice Equivalent (FCOJ  66° Brix)  at CitrusBR associate members’ facilities on December 31, 2017, amounted to 702,981 tons.

This volume indicates an increase of 205,598 tons or 41.3% when compared to the 497,383 tons existing 12 months before on December 31, 2016. The same survey indicates that on June 30th, 2018, the global inventories of Brazilian Orange Juice are anticipated to be 254.2 thousand tons of FCOJ Equivalent 66° Brix.

This projection, if confirmed, will represent an increase of 146,813 tons as compared to the 107,387 tons which were existing at all CitrusBR members’ facilities on June 30th, 2017, as previously informed to the market. …

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Individual solutions, healthy added value and unique Multi-Sensory Experiences^®

Whether for children, adults, health-conscious consumers or the generation of “foodies”, at Biofach in Nuremberg, Doehler will present innovative products and product applications that are explicitly tailored to the individual needs of the various consumer groups for the first time.

Organic products for the whole family

Many consumers increasingly expect that products should be sustainable, fair trade or organic and these factors strongly influence their purchasing decisions. At Biofach 2018, Doehler will present a diverse range of concepts for the entire family which are in line with this trend. These include delicious smoothies made from high-quality fruits and vegetables and fruit nectars without added sugar which are particularly suitable for children, or fruity NFC juices and refreshing fruit splashes. In addition to high-quality conventional ingredients, the company produces a comprehensive portfolio of certified organic ingredients at 14 sites worldwide. In this context, Doehler benefits from its vertical integration comprising a worldwide network of raw materials, its own fruit and vegetable processing in the growing regions and agro-sustainability programmes around the globe. Doehler’s portfolio also includes a broad variety of SAI FSA-verified as well as Rainforest Alliance, UTZ and Fairtrade-certified raw materials.

Naturally healthy – organic products with functional added value

“Superfoods” are literally on everyone’s lips. At Biofach, Doehler will display innovative product concepts that combine pure indulgence and functional added value, such as a delicious apple acai ginger “Juice Shot” for a healthy boost on the go or a fruity-fresh chia smoothie that creates unique Multi-Sensory Experiences^® with the extra-crunchy chia seeds. The “Savoury Snack Drink” is also full of valuable vitamins and nutrients. With various vegetables and a refreshing note of mint, this savoury snack makes a healthy meal when you’re on the road.

Greater variety and new taste experiences for organic products

Doehler is an expert for entirely new taste experiences based on innovative food and beverage concepts. Thanks to its integrated approach, the company provides everything from a single source – from the field to the supermarket shelf. At Biofach, Doehler will present a varied ingredient portfolio and innovative concepts which breathe new life into organic products.

Doehler will display fascinating concepts which meet adult consumers’ wishes for diverse and more natural soft drinks with less sweetness. The organic tea beverage “Peach-Lemon Black Tea”, for example, wins over consumers with its authentic “freshly brewed tea” taste. To meet the growing demand for beverages tailored to an adult taste profile, Doehler offers a wide range of herb and spice extracts such as ginger, cardamom, lavender or peppermint which create a unique signature taste. Doehler also has access to unique and tailored raw materials, which allows for traceability throughout the entire supply chain.

Coffee remains among the most popular beverages for adults and Cold Brew Coffee is one of the growing trends in this segment. Whether enjoyed pure or mixed with milk – cold brew coffee is much less bitter and acidic than the hot version and is characterised by fruity, caramel and chocolate flavours since it is prepared in a gentle process with no heat at all. Doehler has developed a unique process to capture the special flavours of cold brew coffee, which protects the entire flavour profile and makes it possible to create particularly authentic beverage and food concepts.

In Nuremberg, Doehler will also be presenting its comprehensive portfolio of organic fruit and vegetable ingredients, which can be used for many other creative food and beverage compositions. The company’s range of certified organic ingredients includes NFC juices, juice concentrates and purées in traditional flavours such as apple, sour cherry or blackcurrant as well as more exotic flavours such as white guava, grapefruit or mango, which create new taste experiences for organic products.

Novozymes announced its results for 2017. Solid year with 4 % organic sales growth (Q4: + 4 %): Household Care + 1 %, Food & Beverages + 9 %, Bioenergy + 11 %, Agriculture & Feed – 3 %, Technical & Pharma + 2 %. EBIT margin at 27.9 % (around 29 % excl. one-time costs). FCF before acquisitions DKK 2.4 billion.

Regarding the 2018 outlook, with good momentum in the business and a strong pipeline of products and opportunities, we see organic sales growth of 4 – 6 % and an EBIT margin of ~28 %.

Peder Holk Nielsen, President & CEO of Novozymes:
“2017 was satisfactory with solid growth and margins. Similar to other years, 2017 saw differences in divisional growth rates, but serving more than 40 industries with enzymes and microbes provides robustness. Our key priorities for 2018 are to increase our presence with new and existing customers, especially in emerging markets, and ensure we cater for individual customer needs with impactful innovation. And although uncertainties exist, with good momentum, a strong product pipeline and increased commercial activities, we see a promising outlook with accelerating growth for 2018 and beyond.”

Highlights:

• Organic sales growth of 4 % (Q4: + 4 %) and 3 % in DKK (Q4: – 1 %)
• 4 out of 5 areas grew; Food & Beverages and Bioenergy performed very well
• Agriculture & Feed lower, mainly due to poor agriculture markets
• 4 transformative innovations launched of the targeted 10 by 2020
• Reported EBIT margin of 27.9 % (2016: 27.9 %). Q4 2017: 27.6 % (Q4 2016: 28.6 %)
• Albumedix (non-core pharma) divested late 2017. DKK 66m negative Q4 EBIT charge
• M&G financial asset write-down of remaining DKK 60m (DKK 47m post-tax) in Q4
• Lower year-on-year tax rate despite one-off US tax charge of DKK ~30m in Q4
• Free cash flow before acquisitions solid at DKK 2.4 billion; higher investments as expected
• Proposed dividend payout of DKK 4.50/share. Dividend growth of 13 %. 42 % payout ratio
• Full-year 2018 outlook: Organic sales growth 4 – 6 % (growth relatively stronger in 2H y/y), EBIT margin ~28 %, FCF before acquisitions DKK 2.3-2.6 billion, ROIC 24 – 25 %. Stock buyback program of up to DKK 2 billion. Long-term dividend payout ratio upped from ~40 % to ~50 % of net profit

Frost protection, multiple-risk insurance, new regulations on agriculture, and the abrogation of the spirits monopoly. Currently: fruit growers, agronomists and distillers all over Europe have a lot to talk about. From February 23 to 25, 2018, Fruchtwelt Bodensee will give visitors a glimpse of a wide range of approaches to current problems and answers to the industry’s pressing questions. Experts will be on hand to offer overviews of the latest developments in methods, trends and technologies for the global fruit-growing market. A first-class program of events to accompany both the fruit-growing exhibition and the international distillery day will provide in-depth examinations of current issues in the industries. Other topics that will be spotlighted include direct marketing and agrotourism.

“In times of market turbulence, it becomes all the more important to stay informed and exchange ideas and information. Fruchtwelt Bodensee provides an outstanding platform for that purpose, and it comes at just the right point in time,” says Messe Friedrichshafen CEO Klaus Wellmann. He is convinced that “this event will chart the course for the coming season.”  Fruchtwelt Bodensee has undergone significant development, combining a comprehensive array of products on offer with a quality conference program, and early signs indicate that the next edition will be a great success. “Compared to the same stage in organizing the 2015 event, this time we have 20 percent more registrations, meaning we’re expecting around 370 exhibitors to attend the eighth edition of Fruchtwelt Bodensee,” reported project manager Petra Rathgeber. One topic that the exhibition will spotlight is direct marketing, she announced. “The new area, “My Farm Shop”, is off to a good start, with numerous exhibitors to present solutions for shop construction and fittings, vending machines, and products for farm shops.” Furthermore, various presentations on the topic are in planning.

Current Affairs: The 38th Bodensee Obstbautage Fruit-growing Conference at Lake Constance

For fruit-growing specialists, the highlight of the event will be the 38th Bodensee Obstbautage. The West Foyer and the Conference Center will be devoted to a variety of technical presentations and discussions. “The topics of this year’s Bodensee Obstbautage are directly on point with regard to the developments currently occupying fruit growers, producers and marketers alike, namely protecting cultures from undesirable weather effects and taking precautions to safeguard their companies’ financial security,” explained the organizers of the event, Eugen Setz of the Obst vom Bodensee regional marketing association, Dr. Egon Treyer of the Bodenseeobst growers’ organization, and Dr. Manfred Büchele of the KOB Bavendorf (Lake Constance Competence Center for Fruit Growing).

Big Picture: Climate Change and Its Consequences

Following heavy losses due to frost in early 2017, the subject of climate change has taken center stage at the Bodensee Obstbautage conference. At the top of the agenda: political demands, suitable models for multiple-risk insurance, and a tax-free risk balancing reserve. The minister of agriculture of the state of Baden-Württemberg, Peter Hauk, will be in attendance at the opening of the exhibition on Friday to offer remarks on some of the most urgent initiatives coming from the industry. Dr. Matthias Görgens of the Obstbauversuchsanstalt (fruit-growing research center) in Jork, who has been examining the effects of climate change for many years, will open the event with a presentation on this crucial subject. Models for multiple-risk insurance will be presented by Michael Lösche of the insurance agency Vereinigte Hagelversicherung and by Klaus Mugele, vice president of the farmers’ association of Baden-Württemberg. And Heinrich Huber, director of the Hagelschutzkonsortium insurance agency of South Tyrol, will share some insights into the workings of his agency and its past experiences with multiple-risk insurance. Talks by Dr. Gianni Chiogna from Bolzano, Italy, and Marc Sellwig of the KOB Bavendorf will discuss the technical details of using water sprinklers for freeze protection as well as alternative freeze protection techniques.

Enriching: Vacationing on Farms

The topic of vacationing on farms will be given its own series of talks. On the Saturday and Sunday of the exhibition, an extensive body of information on developing this alternative source of income will be made available to interested visitors. Dr. Hermann Gabele from the District Office of Bodenseekreis district will kick off the series with a presentation on “Farm Vacations: A Method of Reducing Financial Risk for Agricultural Businesses?” Then Irmgard Hofmann, also of the local District Office, will lay out the roadmap: from the initial idea through the planning and financing stage to the implementation. The talk after that will handle the aspects of marketing, quality assurance, and networking in the agrotourism segment. Further presentations will handle tax issues as well as the topic of how to make a farm a safe environment for children.

Landmark: Introduction of Transborder Projects

The KOB Bavendorf will be on hand to provide visitors to Fruchtwelt Bodensee with information on four projects that it is currently working on in cooperation with partners from other fruit-growing regions of Europe. Dr. Christian Scheer, an expert on plant protection from the KOB, will present on “Low-residue Production: Model Sites for Advancing Integrated Plant Protection Strategies”, while Dr. Lars Lehmberg will report the latest results in the project to prevent losses due to drosophila suzukii (commonly called the spotted wing fruit fly). In addition, the KOB will give a talk on direct and indirect strategies for combating Marssonina leaf blotch, a fungal disease which defoliates apple trees.

Pioneering: Project to Prevent Damage to Fruit During Storage

Storage damage can lead to considerable losses after the fruit has been picked. Greater knowledge of the causes of the damage and the proper handling of fruit during harvesting and storage can help significantly reduce these losses. KOB expert Dr. Daniel Neuwald will report on a project to communicate sustainable strategies to eliminate sources of damage. The approach involves developing a practical multimedia system to make the accumulated body of knowledge available via an online platform and an app. The database will be accessible free of charge starting around the middle of 2018.

High-proof: Heady Questions at the International Distillery Day

There will be a lot to talk about at the 2018 International Distillery Day, which will be held during Fruchtwelt Bodensee. The focus will be on two urgent topics: the new alcohol tax law, which will go into effect at the beginning of 2018 and abrogate the spirits monopoly, and the planned revision of the EC regulation on spirits. This dual focus will be reflected in the program, with Werner Albrecht of the German Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture illuminating national and EU-wide spirits regulations while Klaus Lindenmann, managing director of the distillers’ association of the state of Baden, will provide information on the new regulatory provisions affecting distilleries starting in 2018. However, other subjects will be handled, as well, for example in Jürgen Friz’s seminar on calculating fire costs for indemnity purposes and in Ulrich Jakob Zeni’s talk on modern presentation of fruit brandies. In Hall B2, exhibitors will be showing off the latest products relating to distilling and distilleries.

Opportunities: Digital Networking in Agriculture

Digital networking is steadily advancing and promises to become a major topic in agriculture, too. At their exhibition stand, representatives of the machinery syndicates in Tettnang, Linzgau, and Lindau will be showing potential opportunities in the area of “smart farming”, both in the future and those already available today, as well as the requirements for agricultural entrepreneurs of the future. Questions of labor law are also on the agenda, with presentations on regulations on road haulage and its effects on agriculture as well as risk assessment with regard to workplace safety and occupational health.

Ticket prices and opening hours

Fruchtwelt Bodensee will take place from Thursday, February 23, to Sunday, February 25, 2018. Opening hours will be from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday. Day tickets cost 11 euro. For more information and an overview of the program of talks, visit: www.fruchtwelt-bodensee.de

Hydrosol now offering trend-forward concepts for fruity refreshment drinks

The market for refreshing beverages is growing around the world. The main drivers in the category are fruit juices and fruit juice drinks, which are seeing disproportionate growth. Hydrosol’s new all-in compounds let beverage manufacturers as well as dairies benefit from this growing demand. Its Stabifruit functional systems contain all the important components for making refreshing fruity drinks, and offer many advantages over concentrates.

Fruit juices and refreshing fruity drinks have a very positive image with consumers. According to research by Innova Market Insights, flavour and health benefits are the most important sales arguments from consumers’ point of view. Fruit juice manufacturers must meet increasing consumer demands while at the same time addressing various production challenges, from growing cost pressure to requirements placed on storage of concentrations, to guaranteeing the optimum product quality. There are also regulations concerning enrichment with vitamins and minerals, as well as the increasingly frequent calls to reduce sugar content, which negatively impacts the mouth feel and viscosity of drinks.

With its Stabifruit line of all-in compounds, Hydrosol offers an attractive solution. Since these functional systems are in powder form, they have high storage stability along with optimum logistics. Unlike with fruit juice concentrates, there are no expiration date issues. Water-free formulations are microbiologically safer than juices or concentrates. In addition, with no water there is less weight to transport. These are measurable cost benefits for users. In addition, these powdered products can be used by manufacturers who were previously not part of the fruit juice industry, and so do not have the specific machinery park.

Naturally the compounds are free of preservatives. They are easy to use, and with just small dosages give refreshing fruity drinks with appealing mouth feel, colour, flavour and viscosity. Individual components can be used flexibly depending on customer wishes. The fruit content is variable. Sugar content can also be reduced without impacting the quality of the beverage. Cloudiness stability is also important, i.e. keeping particles suspended in cloudy drinks. The unusual cloudiness stability of Hydrosol’s formulations has been demonstrated in scientific testing. Hydrosol’s close collaboration with its sister company SternVitamin is an advantage for customers, since it makes it possible to enrich the all-in compounds individually with vitamins and minerals. This gives manufacturers a custom beverage concept from a single source.

A wide portfolio of fruit flavours is available, including favourites like orange, peach and mango as well as special flavours like raspberry, banana and currant. That means that the new Stabifruit line of all-in compounds provides the basis for a wide range of fruit drinks whose mouth feel, colour, taste and viscosity leave nothing to be desired, while offering substantial economic, logistical and production benefits.

Tate & Lyle issues the following trading statement for the three months ended 31 December 2017.

The Group saw volume momentum in its Speciality Food Ingredients and Bulk Ingredients divisions and remains on track to deliver progress in adjusted profit before tax in constant currency for the year ending 31 March 2018, in line with guidance.

In Speciality Food Ingredients, the core business delivered good volume growth, including a continuation of modest volume growth in North America.  In Food Systems, profit improved although volume was lower.  SPLENDA^® Sucralose performed as anticipated with profit in line with the comparative period.  In the division overall, decisions taken in the first half, particularly to invest behind the longer term development of the business, will moderate profit growth in the second half.

In Bulk Ingredients, sweetener volume in North America grew and profit growth is currently expected to be robust for the financial year ending 31 March 2018.  The 2018 calendar year bulk sweetener pricing round is now substantially complete with margins broadly in line with the previous year.

Orange growers from São Paulo expect the rains observed in the state in January to favor a new blossoming in the upcoming weeks, as trees of some orchards were budding. In mid-January, growers from eastern SP already observed new blossoming, which may originate the 2018/19 pear oranges out of the desirable period. Moreover, in the current developmental stage of the plants, rains also favor the settling of second or third blossoming, observed in some orchards in São Paulo between October and December.

On the other hand, humidity concerns citrus growers regarding diseases, such as “estrelinha” (blossom-end-rot), which may hit open flowers. Therefore, producers adopted preventive measures to avoid new losses. Besides high moisture, another aspect that may limit the 2018/19 crop volume is the larger production in the current season (2017/18), which reduced the plant vigor last year. The 2017/18 season is almost 57 % higher than the previous one.

PRICES – The availability of high quality oranges was limited in São Paulo State in January, increasing the supply of low quality fruits and pressing down quotes. Moreover, rains lowered the demand for citrus fruits in that period. In January, pear orange quotes averaged 20.00 BRL per 40.8-kilo box, on tree, 46.7 % lower than in January/17, but still 0.3 % higher than in December/17. As for tahiti lime, high supply and the weak pace of trades (domestic and international) pressed down values last month. On the other hand, demand was heated, due to the big size of the fruits and the intensification of crushing. In January, tahiti lime quotes averaged 20.50 BRL per 27-kilo box, harvested, 50.1 % down compared to that in December/17.

Company will be branded “Prodalim Italia”

Prodalim Group, one of the worlds’ biggest suppliers of raw materials and solutions in the beverage industry, announces the completion of the full acquisition of IFB srl.

IFB is a blending house located in the port of Livorno in Italy.

The company, that was founded on 1994, is a major supplier of juices, concentrates, multi fruit blends and compounds that focuses mainly in the Italian market.

In 2016, Prodalim acquired a minority stake in the company, and has now completed the full acquisition of the company.
Tsahi Berezovsky, prodalim CEO: “IFB has a great team and it is positioned perfectly to become the biggest supplier In the Italian market and its surroundings.

We are certain that by integrating IFB completely into prodalim, and leveraging on Prodalim standards, network of customers and suppliers, and our R&D capabilities, we create real synergies, that will bring great benefits to our customers in Italy and the neighbor countries.

The acquisition of IFB is a major part of our strategy to be as near as possible to our customers and to offer them the best solution in terms of service, efficient logistics and great flexibility.

Prodalim has created a “logistical triangle” stretched between Rotterdam, Valencia and Livorno, and we can reach each customer in Europe with an optimized and efficient solution.

This year our accelerated growth strategy, both organically as well as by acquisitions in Europe and North America will be a major part of our corporate focus. We will continue supplying our worldwide customers best of bread services and solutions.”

Literature study TOP and Wageningen UR represents start of large practical research

TOP bv and Wageningen UR together performed a comprehensive literature study into food and life style in relation to Alzheimer’s. The literature study represents the starting point of a large practical research that will begin during 2018.

On behalf of Wageningen UR professor Harry Wichers is involved in the literature study and the research. Over the past months hundreds of scientific articles have been reviewed and assessed on micro nutrients, food products and food patterns. The findings from the study will not yet be made public, but form the basis of the additional practical research.

Dementia is now the number 1 cause of death in The Netherlands. Alzheimer’s decease is the most common form of dementia. Since the fifties the number of people with Alzheimer’s has doubled. And it is expected to double again in the next 25 years (up to half a million patients).

Despite decades of pharmaceutical research, no cure has yet been found. Some larger pharmaceutical companies even abandon their research. Also doubt has risen about the mechanism causing Alzheimer’s. The practical research will focus on the question whether there is a possible link between food patterns and lifestyle on the one hand, and the development of symptoms of dementia on the other. An additional important goal is to improve the quality of life of the patients.

The practical research will start during 2018 and is expected to take up to one year.

Chelab Dr. V. Ara chemical laboratory for food, water and environmental analyses was founded in 1977 by Dr. V. Ara. Since 41 years chelab has developed a vast analytical and technical expertise in fruits, all related processed products and aroma analysis.

Chelabs national and international customer base consists of growers, processors, fillers and traders in fruit juice processing. For an ongoing successful continuation, chelab as a partnership decided to convert into chelab Dr. V. Ara GmbH & Co. KG.

At the same time Simone Schmidt and Dr. Fred Siewek have been appointed as managing directors of the new company.

Chelab sets course to remain an indepent, reliable and competent partner for a successful development in the future.

A deep understanding of China’s fruit market is significantly necessary before you tap into China. And Fruit Expo will represent you how promising China’s fruit market.

To Join Hands with Alibaba to Expand Online Fresh Produce Market

Fruit Expo 2018 works with Alibaba-China’s Largest E-commerce will lead you to promising Online Fresh Produce Market.According to “2017 China E-commerce Market Data Monitoring Report”,by the end of 2017, it is estimated that the trade volume online of fresh foods will reach 165 billion yuan, up 80.5 % from 91.39 billion yuan in 2016. By 2019, prediction volume will reach 350.6 billion yuan.

Major Fresh Produce Markets to Increase Offline Market

Fruit Expo is settled down in Guangzhou in which the largest port of China for imported fruits locates. There are many well-equipped large fruit wholesale markets in Guangzhou and surrounding cities.For example,Jiangnan Fresh Produce Wholesale Market covers an area of 400,000 sq.m, trading and distributing 60 % of China’s imported fruits. In 2015, the trade volume of fruits and vegetables was 5.1 billion kilograms, with a total value of 24.8 billion yuan.

Preview of Fruit Expo 2018

Supported by over 100 worldwide professional media, Fruit Expo 2018 is going to be staged on a show floor of 23,000sq.m, hosting 400+ exhibitors and 15,000 visitors.

Exhibition Scope:

• Fresh Fruit: fresh fruits, fresh cut, organic product, etc.
• Processed Fruit: frozen fruit products, dried fruits, fruit cans, fruit juice, fruit jam, preserved fruits, nuts, highly processed fruits, etc.
• Fruit Processing Equipment & Technology;
• Cold Chain & Logistics;
• Fruit Growing & Post-harvest Handling;
• Fresh Retail & Related Technology; etc.

Creating the world’s largest independent bottler for retailers and A-brands

Refresco, an independent bottler of beverages for retailers and A-brands in Europe and the US, announced completion of the acquisition of the bottling activities of Cott.

In combining Refresco’s strong European capabilities and Cott’s strength in the UK and North America, Refresco almost doubles its production volume to approximately 12 billion liters. The combination provides customers access to seamless service across geographies and an unrivalled production platform with access to all non-alcoholic beverages categories. Refresco now has a footprint of 59 facilities in 12 countries, employing over 9,500 people.

Integration and next steps

The closing follows Refresco shareholder approval, the approval in principle of the UK competition authority (CMA) and the relevant competition authorities in both the US and Canada. The CMA’s green light is conditional upon the sale of the Aseptic-PET facility at the Nelson site to a suitable buyer. Until that time Refresco and Cott will continue to operate separately in the UK.  Integration will start immediately in North America. In the UK, integration will commence once we have executed the proposed remedy.

In the new combination, Refresco’s activities in North America are significantly extended, resulting in national coverage with 22 manufacturing sites in the US, 4 manufacturing sites in Canada and 1 manufacturing site in Mexico. Furthermore, Refresco now has 26 manufacturing sites in continental Europe and 6 manufacturing sites in the UK.  In the UK, Cott’s bottling business will be integrated into Refresco Europe and Cott’s North American organization will be combined with Refresco North America.

The Cott bottling activities add new capabilities and expertise as well as the potential to share best practices across the combined activities of Refresco. There is significant value creation potential through scale benefits in raw material and packaging procurement, the realization of opex and capex efficiencies in footprint, utilization and logistical optimization, as well as benefits from integration and streamlining of the combined organization.

Dr Pepper Snapple Group, Inc. and Keurig Green Mountain, Inc. announced that the companies have entered into a definitive merger agreement to create Keurig Dr Pepper (“KDP”), a new beverage company of scale with a portfolio of iconic consumer brands and unrivaled distribution capability to reach virtually every point-of-sale in North America. Under the terms of the agreement, which has been unanimously approved by the Dr Pepper Snapple Board of Directors, Dr Pepper Snapple shareholders will receive $ 103.75 per share in a special cash dividend and retain 13 % of the combined company.

KDP will have pro forma combined 2017 annual revenues of approximately $11 billion. This combination of two iconic beverage companies joins together beloved brands Dr Pepper, 7UP, Snapple, A&W, Mott’s and Sunkist with leading coffee brand Green Mountain Coffee Roasters and the innovative Keurig single-serve coffee system, as well as more than 75 owned, licensed and partner brands in the Keurig system.

Please read more under: news.keuriggreenmountain.com

Christoffer Lorenzen (42) is Executive Vice President (EVP) of Chr. Hansen’s largest business unit, Food Cultures & Enzymes. He joined Chr. Hansen in March 2008 and has held various positions in Sales and Marketing, including Director of Marketing in our Animal Health & Nutrition Business, and Vice President of Central & Eastern Europe. In 2013 he was appointed Senior Vice President of Commercial Development in the Cultures & Enzymes Division and in 2016 he was appointed EVP of the Food Cultures and Enzymes Business Unit.

Prior to joining Chr. Hansen, Mr Lorenzen was employed at H. Lundbeck A/S, a global specialty pharmaceutical company, where he served as Head of Corporate Strategy and M&A as well as Corporate Secretary.

Christoffer Lorenzen holds a Master in Business (Marketing) 2002 from the Copenhagen Business School.

As of 1 February, 2018, the Executive Board consists of: CEO Cees de Jong, CFO Søren Westh Lonning, CSO Thomas Schäfer, and EVP Christoffer Lorenzen. The Executive Board is appointed by the Board of Directors and is, together with their colleagues in the Corporate Leadership Team, responsible for day-to-day management and compliance with the guidelines and directions given by the Board of Directors.

Shot-sized health-boosting juice launches take off

Consumers are increasingly interested in naturally-functional food and drinks. This increase in health consciousness, coupled with busy on-the-go lifestyles, has fuelled innovation around smart, nutrient-rich snacking solutions. Tapping into this trend, health-promoting juice shots provide a quick, natural boost of nutrition in small to-go bottles. Though still niche, the share of juice shots in total juice launches in Europe has increased sixfold over the past four years.

Nordic countries take a leading role in innovation

Nordic countries, led by Denmark, take a prominent role in juice shot launch activity in Europe. Of all juices described as shots/boosters launched between October 2015 and September 2017 in Europe, 39 % were launched in Denmark. Germany, Norway and Sweden follow with 13 % of launches each. Repeatedly referred to as “the healthiest countries in the world”, Nordic countries put a strong focus on wholesome, nutrient-rich and naturally functional diets.

Ginger dominates the scene, but probiotic-rich ingredients on the rise

Using concentrated doses of fruits, vegetables, plant extracts and herbs, juice shots are designed as a preventive measure to boost consumers’ overall wellbeing, but can also address specific health issues…

The whole blog by Julia Büch, Food and Drink Analyst at Mintel

EFSA’s plant health experts have reviewed a study that suggests the pathogen which causes citrus black spot disease (CBS) is present in Europe. Phyllosticta citricarpa is listed as a quarantine plant pest in the EU and has never before been identified in the territory.

The authors of the paper reported finding the fungal pathogen in domestic gardens in Portugal, Malta and Italy but said there was no evidence of the disease at any of the sites.

Although the authors applied advanced molecular techniques for identifying fungal species, EFSA’s Panel on Plant Health noted a number of limitations in the surveillance part of the study:

• It is not clear from the methodology presented how the sample locations and sites were chosen or how samples were collected.
• The sampling procedure was inconsistent and not statistically based.
• No explanation is given for how the CBS disease surveys were conducted. Without properly constituted disease surveys, there is little support for the conclusion that P. citricarpa did not lead to disease.

Surveys conducted by national plant protection organisations following publication of the paper have not confirmed its findings. Sampling will continue in the following seasons.

• Evaluation of a paper by Guarnaccia et al. (2017) on the first report of Phyllosticta citricarpa in Europe

2017 was another record year for food and drink industry transactions, with 727 registered in the bevblog.net mergers and acquisitions database, an average of almost 14 each week.

The total is 103 more than in 2016 and 40 % higher than five years ago. The number has increased each year apart from a dip in 2013.
The most active sectors were dairy on 72, ingredients and soft drinks on 68, then packaging on 54. Beer on 40 was ahead of spirits on 37 and wine on 30.

The top 15 sectors were the same as 2016, with the exception of plant-based replacing bottled water.
Plant-based deals quadrupled (+13), with nutrition up 121 % (+17), meat up 67 % (+16), snacks up 52 % (+11), ingredients up 36 % (+18) and dairy up 24 % (+14). Wine activity dropped by 36 % (-17) and packaging by 16 % (-10).

Frutarom, Anheuser-Busch InBev, Heineken, Orkla and Unilever were the most acquisitive companies of 2017, according to the bevblog.net food and drink transactions database, with each responsible for 6 or more takeovers. Lactalis, Nestlé and US Foods all made 5 purchases.

Coca-Cola was only company to agree 5 or more sales, followed by Treasury Wine Estates on 4, then Asahi, Coke Consolidated, Kraft Heinz, Murray Goulburn, Nestlé and Unilever on 3 each. Coca-Cola undertook 14 separate divestments as it concluded its franchise restructuring.

A total of 1,161 companies were involved across 64 countries, with the United States and United Kingdom most prominent overall.

France was the biggest net buyer (+19), followed by Belgium (+16), Switzerland (+15) and Israel (+11).

The United Sates was the main net seller (-42), followed by the United Kingdom (-22), Australia (-10) and Brazil (-10).

Link to database

With reference to the joint press release dated 25 October 2017 and the publication of the Offer Memorandum today, the Offeror and Refresco jointly announce that the Offeror is making a recommended cash offer to all holders of shares (“Shareholders”) to acquire their Shares at an Offer Price of EUR 20 (cum dividend) in cash per Share.

Highlights

• Recommended public offer for all Shares (the “Offer”) by PAI Partners SAS (“PAI”) and Cubalibre Holdings Inc., being part of a group led by the British Columbia Investment Management Corporation (“bcIMC”), acting jointly through Sunshine Investments B.V. (the “Offeror”) at an offer price of EUR 20 (cum dividend) in cash per tendered Share (the “Offer Price”)
• Refresco’s Executive Board and Supervisory Board (together the “Boards”) fully support and unanimously recommend the Offer
• Certain major Shareholders and all shareholding members of the Boards, holding in aggregate 26.5 % of all issued and outstanding Shares, have irrevocably agreed to support the Offer and tender all of their Shares, provided that the Boards continue to recommend the Offer
• The Offeror and Refresco have agreed on certain important non-financial terms, including:

• Support and respect the buy-and-build strategy of Refresco
• Existing rights and benefits of the employees of Refresco will be respected
• Headquarters, central management and key support functions to remain in Rotterdam, the Netherlands

• The acceptance period commences at 09:00 hours CET, on 23 January 2018 and, unless extended, expires at 17:40 hours CET, on 19 March 2018
• A position statement providing further information to the Shareholders, including the agenda for the EGM, is made available on the corporate website of Refresco

Hans Roelofs, CEO of Refresco: “I am excited to announce the next step in the development of our company with the launch of the Offer today. Over the past 17 years, Refresco has successfully implemented its buy-and-build strategy with 22 acquisitions. It is exactly because of this strategy that the consortium is interested in the acquisition of Refresco, and with their full support of our strategy going forward, we will be able to further accelerate our growth plans.

We have become an important player in the consolidation and outsourcing trends of the beverage industry in Europe. We are currently in the process of completing our transformational acquisition of Cott TB. With the remedy to sell off the Aseptic PET facility at the Nelson site, we also have approval in principle from the UK competition authority, which is the last condition precedent.

With this latest acquisition, which is fully supported by the consortium, we create the world’s largest independent bottler with leadership positions across Europe and North America.

We are convinced that the Offer fully reflects the value creation potential of the combined company, allowing our Shareholders to realise the value of the synergy potential immediately instead of over time. With the consortium’s track record, financial strength and understanding of our business, they can support Refresco going forwards and we believe the Offer secures the longer-term interests of Refresco, our employees and customers in the best possible way.”

The Coca-Cola Company announced that it is fundamentally reshaping its approach to packaging, with a global goal to help collect and recycle the equivalent of 100 % of its packaging by 2030.

This goal is the centerpiece of the Company’s new packaging vision for a World Without Waste, which the Coca-Cola system intends to back with a multi-year investment that includes ongoing work to make packaging 100 % recyclable. This begins with the understanding that food and beverage containers are an important part of people’s modern lives but that there is much more to be done to reduce packaging waste globally.

“The world has a packaging problem – and, like all companies, we have a responsibility to help solve it,” said James Quincey, President and CEO of The Coca-Cola Company. “Through our World Without Waste vision, we are investing in our planet and our packaging to help make this problem a thing of the past.”

The Company and its bottling partners are pursuing several key goals:

• Investing in the planet: By 2030, for every bottle or can the Coca-Cola system sells globally, we aim to help take one back so it has more than one life. The Company is investing its marketing dollars and skills behind this 100 % collection goal to help people understand what, how and where to recycle. We will support collection of packaging across the industry, including bottles and cans from other companies. The Coca-Cola system will work with local communities, industry partners, our customers, and consumers to help address issues like packaging litter and marine debris.
• Investing in packaging: To achieve its collection goal, The Coca-Cola Company is continuing to work toward making all of its packaging 100 % recyclable globally. The Company is building better bottles, whether through more recycled content, by developing plant-based resins, or by reducing the amount of plastic in each container. By 2030, the Coca-Cola system also aims to make bottles with an average of 50 % recycled content. The goal is to set a new global standard for beverage packaging. Currently, the majority of the Company’s packaging is recyclable.

World Without Waste is the next step in the Company’s ongoing sustainability efforts, building off success in replenishing an estimated 100 % of the water it uses in its final beverages. The Company achieved and exceeded its water replenishment goal in 2015, five years ahead of expectations. These efforts are part of the Company’s larger strategy to grow with conscience, by becoming a total beverage company that grows the right way.

“Bottles and cans shouldn’t harm our planet, and a litter-free world is possible,” Quincey said. “Companies like ours must be leaders. Consumers around the world care about our planet, and they want and expect companies to take action. That’s exactly what we’re going to do, and we invite others to join us on this critical journey.”

Firmenich announced its exclusive partnership with Blue Marble Biomaterials, a leading U.S. biotechnology company specialized in natural and sustainable ingredients. With this partnership Firmenich gains direct access to key expertise, from biomimicry to non-GM fermentation, enabling the design of innovative and sustainable natural ingredients for the food, beverage and flavor industries.

“At Firmenich, we are committed to shaping food and beverage solutions that consumers can trust with flavors drawn from nature that taste great and enhance nutrition,” said Chris Millington, President, Flavors, Firmenich. “This is a win-win partnership, with Blue Marble Biomaterials technology complementing our leadership in flavor science, creation and consumer understanding.”

“Blue Marble is excited to innovate with Firmenich,” said James Stephens, CEO of Blue Marble. “Through biotechnological pathways and with our fermentation technology we will provide Firmenich with valuable and exclusive, novel natural ingredients.”

“Firmenich has leading capabilities in naturals, with our ability to source specific natural raw materials, and develop our own extraction processes,” says Dr. Jerome Barra, Vice President of Innovation & Design, Flavor Division, Firmenich. “In addition, we have a proven track record in bringing natural ingredients to the market. Our collaboration with Blue Marble Biomaterials is an extension of these capabilities, enabling us to address consumers’ expectations for more transparent food and beverage experiences.”

There have been many significant developments in the area of isotopic analysis since this recommendation was first published in the 1996.

Many of these have shown the power of internal referencing, which has often allowed the detection limit at which adulterations can be positively identified to be significantly reduced.

Some examples of these “newer” approaches are:

1. internal carbon isotope ratios of individual sugars
2. relative carbon isotope ratios seen for the sugars, acids, individual acids, pulp and pectin
3. positional carbon isotope ratios of malic and ascorbic acids
4. internal deuterium and carbon isotope ratios of citric acid
5. internal oxygen isotope ratios of juice water and ethanol derived from the sugars

As a corporate IFU member you can download your copy via the website using your log in details @ www.ifu-fruitjuice.com.

Bioprotection continues to show impressive momentum

Chr. Hansen reports strong organic revenue growth of 10 % in the first three months of 2017/18: Food Cultures & Enzymes 12 %, Health & Nutrition 10 % and Natural Colors 4 %. EBIT before special items decreased by 1 % to EUR 65 million, corresponding to an EBIT margin before special items of 25.4 %. The overall outlook for 2017/18 is unchanged.

CEO Cees de Jong says: “We have had a solid start to the year, with Food Cultures & Enzymes’ organic growth better than expected. Sales of bioprotective solutions continue to show impressive momentum, and this is still without any significant impact from the second-generation FreshQ^® products that we launched at the beginning of this financial year. We have also introduced ProKids^®, an innovative product concept for a children’s drinking yogurt containing our LGG^® probiotic strain. As expected, organic sales growth in Natural Colors was below our long-term ambition.

“Our EBIT margin before special items in Q1 was lower than last year, mainly due to the sale of a property in Argentina in Q1 2016/17, adverse currency impacts and costs related to starting up our new production capacity in Copenhagen. The new capacity is producing ahead of schedule, and we expect to see improving margins from this toward the end of the financial year.

“We are encouraged by the solid start to the year, and we maintain our overall guidance for the full year. We increase our expectations to organic growth for Food Cultures & Enzymes to be even stronger and above the long term 7 – 8 % growth target that we have for this business. At the same time, we lower our expectations to organic growth in Health & Nutrition for the full year to be below our long term guidance for this business due to the challenging market conditions in North America.”

Read the full report here.

Hazera, a global leader in the seed industry, recently introduced the Polimore, a small, tasty, firm seeded watermelon with an exceptionally long shelf life, to the African market. The hybrid fruit was developed to improve on the local watermelon, whose lack of taste, quality, firmness and disease resistance – plus short shelf life and prohibitive price – resulted in very low market demand.

The easy-to-grow Polimore’s adaptability to African conditions will provide a boon. Its long shelf life benefits all involved in the marketing chain – farmers, distributors and consumers – and enables export to neighboring countries without negative results (consumers can still eat the fruit several days after purchase). The Polimore’s total yield – and the price obtained for the crops – are generally higher than those of the traditional watermelons.

Consumers prefer the taste, size (two to three kilograms), shelf life and reasonable price of the Polimore watermelon to those of the larger ones to which they were accustomed. The growth of consumer demand has shown the growers that the switch to Polimore benefits everyone.

Further to the announcements made by Refresco on 25 July 2017 and 3 January 2018 regarding the acquisition of Cott’s bottling activities, Refresco announced that the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has in principle accepted the remedy proposed by Refresco. Refresco anticipates to complete the acquisition of Cott’s bottling activities on 30 January 2018.

On 3 January 2018, the CMA decided that the acquisition of Cott’s bottling activities by Refresco raises potential competition concerns in the United Kingdom for one specific category, juice drinks in PET using a special aseptic production process that allows them to be sold preservative-free and without refrigeration. In the UK, the combined company produces these products in only two factories, Bridgwater (Refresco) and Nelson (Cott).

To address the potential competition concerns raised by the CMA, Refresco in consultation with Cott, offered as a remedy to sell off the Aseptic PET facility at the Nelson site. This facility will be sold to a suitable buyer.  Rabobank has been appointed to lead this sales process. Until all requirements are met, Refresco and Cott will continue to operate separately in the UK, while the integration in the other jurisdictions will start shortly after completion of the acquisition.

CEO Refresco, Hans Roelofs: “The acceptance of our remedy by the CMA is an important milestone on the path to completing this transformational acquisition of Cott’s bottling activities. We continue to fully cooperate with the CMA and to search for a suitable buyer in order to deliver on the required remedies. We will now focus on the next steps to completion and look forward to creating the world’s largest independent bottler with leadership positions across Europe and North America.”

Tate & Lyle PLC is pleased to announce the appointment of Nick Hampton as Chief Executive of Tate & Lyle with effect from 1 April 2018.  Nick is currently Chief Financial Officer and a Board member of Tate & Lyle.

Nick Hampton succeeds Javed Ahmed who, having served as Chief Executive of Tate & Lyle since October 2009, will step down from this role and from the Board, and retire from the Company, with effect from 1 April 2018.

Nick Hampton joined Tate & Lyle as Chief Financial Officer in September 2014 from PepsiCo where he had served as President West Europe and Senior Vice President Commercial Europe since 2013. Prior to that, during a 20-year career at PepsiCo, he held a number of senior finance and operational roles.

The process to appoint a new Chief Financial Officer of Tate & Lyle is underway, and a further announcement will be made in due course.

After the large output in 2017/18, supply may be limited again in the 2018/19 season in São Paulo State and Triângulo Mineiro. With unfavorable weather during the fruitlet settlement in the first flowering event (the main event), which would become fruits in the next season, losses were observed in three of the four main citrus producing regions in São Paulo.

Northern and central SP should be the most affected, followed by the eastern region of the state. In southwestern SP, however, fruitlet drops in the first flowering event were within normality. Thus, once again, productivity in this area may be high again.
With signs of new flowering events at the end of the year, losses may be softened if settlement is satisfactory. Still, the volume of fruits should be smaller than that from the main event.

The first USDA report for the next Brazilian orange crop, released in December, indicate an output of 320 million boxes of 40.8 kilos in 2018/19 in São Paulo State and Triângulo Mineiro, 19 % lower than in 2017/18. Although it is still early to measure, growers consulted by Cepea believe in an even lower output. The first estimates from Fundecitrus (Citrus Defense Fund), in turn, should be released in May.

Despite forecasts for lower supply of raw material in 2018/19, 93 % recovery of orange juice inventories at processors from São Paulo in June 2018 does not indicate excess in juice supply yet. The large crop will be enough only to replenish low inventories from 2016/17.

Besides, agents should be watchful for lower production in Florida as well. According to the last report released by the USDA (in December), harvesting in Florida should total only 46 million boxes, 33 % down compared to the previous season. In addition to greening, which has affected local production for some crops, hurricane Irma hit the area in September 2017. Local production results will be released in July 2018. Thus, as inventories decrease in the United States, there is need for more importation.

PURCHASES – The first orange purchase proposals in the 2018/19 season were reported in the market of São Paulo in mid-November, 2017. Although occasional, large-sized processors have signaled possible trades around 20.00 BRL per 40.8-kilo box, harvested and delivered at the processor, with participation additional in juice sales prices in the international market. If a larger volume is purchased – or for a period longer than two years –, bids at 22.00 BRL per box have been reported.

However, based on expectations for a smaller crop, citrus growers are cautious regarding closing new contracts, and many of them are monitoring price rises. The values initially bid by the industry are higher than in the spot market this crop, but lower than in the 2016/17 season, when supply was low.

TAHITI LIME – Tahiti lime harvest in 2018 is forecast to be smaller as well. According to Cepea collaborators, besides losses of part of the flowers (due to warm and dry weather), many small-sized fruits were harvested in November and December, which should be ready to be harvested now in January.

The tahiti lime crop peak is forecast for January, since rains in late December and early January may have favored the development and growth of fruits. Thus, prices are expected to remain at low levels until late March, pressed down by higher supply. On the other hand, exportations are expected to increase, as well as the volume of fruits sent to processors.

This morning the Prime Minister Theresa May launched the Government’s 25 Year Environment Plan for England.

Under the Government’s plan, there will be an extension of the 5p charge for plastic carrier bags to all retailers in England, supermarkets will be encouraged to introduce “plastic-free” aisles and taxes and charges on single-use plastic items will be considered as part of planned Government consultations.

Gavin Partington, Director General at the British Soft Drinks Association, responded to the plan:

“BSDA and its members welcome the launch of government’s 25 Year Environment Plan and its commitment to an evidence-based approach to establishing the best way to deal with plastic waste.

“The ambition is for all our packaging in the UK to be 100 % recyclable, that consumers recycle and that drinks containers do not end up as litter in our towns, countryside, rivers and oceans.

“China’s decision to ban plastic waste imports has further exposed the gaps in the UK’s recycling infrastructure and emphasised the need for a reform of the current compliance system.

“We believe that by working together with governments, NGO’s and other stakeholders real progress can be achieved to make the UK the world leader in creating a truly circular economy.”

Turkey produced 4.3 million MT of citrus, including orange, lemon, mandarin, and grapefruit in MY 2016/17.

Turkey is the eighth ranked country in the world for citrus production with a 2.7 percent share. Citrus production in Turkey is 63 percent above the amount that is consumed domestically.

Turkish producers have started to search for new varieties from the other leading citrus producing countries in order to improve domestic production and capture new export markets.

Approximately half of the total citrus production is exported, with an export value of $880 million. Top export destinations are Russia and Iraq, followed by Ukraine.

Turkish citrus exporters would prefer more diversified export markets to avoid complications from any political tensions.

Please download the complete report under: gain.fas.usda.gov

The Board of Directors of Chr. Hansen Holding A/S has appointed Mauricio Graber as new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) as of 1 June 2018.

Mauricio Graber (54) has been President of the Flavours Division of Givaudan S.A. and a member of Givaudan’s Executive Committee since 2006.

Mauricio Graber holds a BSc in Electronic Engineering from Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana in Mexico, and a Masters in Management from the JL Kellogg Graduate School of Management, Northwestern University, USA. His professional career started in 1989 with The Nutrasweet Company in the USA as Business Development Manager. After two years in the role, he returned to Mexico in 1991 to become Regional Head of North Latin America.

In 1995, he joined the US-based flavour company Tastemaker as Regional President of Latin America. In 1997, Tastemaker was acquired by the industry leader Givaudan, and subsequently Mauricio was appointed Regional President of Latin America of the combined regional business. From his new base in Brazil, he continued in that role until 2006 when he was appointed President of the Flavours division based in Switzerland.

Over the past 10 years Mauricio has led Givaudan Flavours to strengthen its global industry leadership position. He has built a customer centric culture, accelerated commercialization of innovation, invested in developing markets, driven productivity programs, and delivered both organic growth and successful integration of strategic acquisitions. In addition, he has developed internal talents and built a strong organization.

Chr. Hansen’s current CEO, Cees the Jong, will continue as acting CEO until Mauricio Graber takes up his new position on 1 June 2018.

Eating more protein, especially at breakfast, could be the key to achieving healthy weight loss, according to a new report released by CSIRO.

The report, Protein Balance: New concepts for protein in Weight Management, affirms the benefits of the CSIRO Total Wellbeing Diet for weight control and reveals that the latest scientific evidence supports eating at least 25 grams of protein at each main meal to control hunger and enhance muscle metabolism.

The new Total Wellbeing Diet Protein Balance program focuses on shifting more protein consumption to breakfast.
“The average Australian eats much lower amounts of protein at breakfast, so increasing breakfast protein may help to control eating later in the day,” Senior Principal Research Scientist for CSIRO and co-author of the CSIRO Total Wellbeing Diet, Professor Manny Noakes, said.

“If you find it difficult to control what you eat, a redistribution of protein toward breakfast may be the answer to reducing your waistline without leaving you ravenously hungry and craving unhealthy foods.”

The CSIRO report showed that for most Australians, protein intake was skewed towards the evening meal, with only small amounts eaten at breakfast. On average women consumed 11 g of protein at breakfast, compared to the male average of 15 g.

The report also found that older Australians consumed the least amount of protein at breakfast but needed more protein to prevent muscle loss.

“The scientific evidence supports a higher protein diet, combined with regular exercise, for greater fat loss. Eating at least 25 g of protein at main meals can assist with hunger control,” Professor Noakes said.

According to the report, Australians get over one third of their dietary protein from low-quality sources such as processed foods, instead of whole protein sources including lean meats, fish, eggs, legumes and dairy.

Adopting a higher protein, moderate carbohydrate, low GI diet is a nutritious way to lose weight and has been scientifically validated for some time, , underpinning successful programs such as the CSIRO Total Wellbeing Diet.

Since launching in 2005, the CSIRO Total Wellbeing Diet has helped more than half a million Australians lose weight.

After 35 years, America’s No. 1-selling zero-calorie beverage brand is entering a new era.

With an updated look, sleek new packaging, the debut of four bold, new flavors and a new campaign, The Coca-Cola Company is re-energizing and modernizing Diet Coke for a new generation of drinkers – and offering its millions of current fans a new look and more flavors.

The two-year innovation process was fueled by consumer research pointing to younger Americans’ affinity for big, yet refreshing and great-tasting, flavors in their favorite foods and beverages – from hoppy craft beers to spicy sauces.

The company spoke to more than 10,000 people from across the country to get their ideas and inputs on potential flavor extensions, packaging updates and more. From these insights, Coca-Cola’s R&D team developed and tested more than 30 Diet Coke flavor combinations, featuring tropical, citrus and even botanical notes. Ultimately, Diet Coke landed on four flavors that received the most positive consumer responses.

Ginger Lime, Feisty Cherry, Zesty Blood Orange and Twisted Mango bring more variety to the trademark by complementing the unique, crisp taste of Diet Coke with unexpected-yet-delicious tastes. They aim to satisfy adventurous fans’ thirst for bolder tastes and more dynamic and uplifting experiences.

Diet Coke and the new flavors will be packaged in sleek 12-oz. cans and sold as on-the-go singles and in eight-packs. Diet Coke also will continue to be offered in all existing package sizes, such as standard 12-oz. cans, mini cans, glass bottles and more. All new packaging and flavors hit store shelves this month.

New Packaging, New Look

The sleek cans will give Diet Coke a more contemporary feel. A refreshed visual identity, meanwhile, lives up to Diet Coke’s new flavors and packaging.

Anchored by the brand’s iconic silver color, the new look-and-feel has a simplified color palette focused on silver and red with accents of bold color to represent the new flavors. A slightly refined typography simultaneously preserves Diet Coke’s heritage, yet presents it in a more progressive manner.

A Personality Evolution and a Brand Rejuvenation

Together, the new packaging designs and visual identity represent a personality evolution – a brand rejuvenation – for Diet Coke. A robust integrated marketing campaign launching later this month will celebrate the delicious, uplifting taste of Diet Coke and express an unapologetic, emboldened point of view for the brand.

7‑Eleven^® stores in the U.S. are carrying a new line of proprietary juices that rival those prepared fresh in free-standing, high-end juice bars. The new organic, cold-pressed juices are part of the retailer’s 7-Select GO!Smart private brand line of premium better-for-you snacks and beverages.

The 7-Select GO!Smart juices come in four varieties:

• Clean & Green – Kale, cucumber, apple, spinach, mint, celery, lime, parsley
• Tropical Glow^™ – Pineapple, orange, banana, apple, mango, passionfruit, coconut water
• Berry & Bright^™ – Tart cherry, carrot, blackberry, pomegranate, bilberry, cranberry, acai
• Restoration Red^™ – Tomato, tart cherry, beet, strawberry, apple, lime

Each variety is USDA-certified organic, made from whole fruits and vegetables. A special promotional retail price for the launch is two for $4 at participating stores for a limited time. The everyday suggested retail price is $2.99 for a 14-ounce bottle, less than the cost of premium national brand juices. The juices will be sold chilled in the refrigerated section.

While some independent juice bars and premium juice companies can boast their juices are organic or cold-pressed, most can’t make both claims. 7‑Eleven can make them … and several more.

The new line of premium 7-Select GO!Smart juices are:

• USDA-certified organic
• Cold-pressed certified fair trade
• Non-GMO Project verified
• 100 percent fruit juice blend or vegetable and fruit juice blend
• Gluten-free
• Vegan
• No additives
• Not from concentrate
• Fewer calories
• No added sugar
• Glass bottle, not plastic
• Shelf-stable

In addition to complete nutritional information, the back of the bottle includes a fruit-to-vegetable taste meter for each flavor and even how much of each individual ingredient it takes to make one 14-ounce bottle. For instance, one bottle of Clean & Green contains 25 kale leaves, one parsley bunch, 12 celery stalks, three cucumbers, two green apples, 13 mint leaves, 15 spinach leaves and one lime.

Cold-pressed juices are made using a hydraulic press to extract juice from fruits and vegetables.

While overall juice sales increased more than 4 percent over last year, sales of super premium juices rose at double the rate as people look for healthier and more nutritionally dense beverages. For many, particularly millennial females, premium juices offer an easy way to boost consumption of fruits and vegetables.

On 4^th January, Waitrose announced plans to introduce minimum age limit on sales of high caffeine energy drinks. From 5th March 2018, customers buying caffeinated energy drinks containing more than 150 mg of caffeine per litre will be asked to prove they are over 16 years of age.

The move builds on existing industry efforts including labelling guidelines which require any high caffeine energy drink to include an advisory note to children.

Gavin Partington, Director General at the British Soft Drinks Association said:

“Energy drinks and their ingredients have been deemed safe by regulatory authorities around the world.

“In 2010 we introduced a voluntary Code of Practice to support parents and consumers who want to make informed choices. In 2015 this was updated to include more stringent guidelines around marketing and promoting, including reference to in and around schools.

“Energy drinks are not marketed or promoted to under 16s and all beverages carry an advisory note stating: Not recommended to children.

“Energy drink manufacturers have taken all possible steps to be clear about the suitability of energy drinks. Retailers, schools and parents all have a role to play in educating children about caffeine and sugar consumption from all sources.”

Further to the announcement on July 25, 2017 regarding Refresco’s acquisition of Cott’s bottling activities, Refresco (Euronext Amsterdam: RFRG) provides a progress update on the UK Competition and Markets Authority (“CMA”) process.

Refresco has been informed by the CMA that the acquisition of Cott’s bottling activities raises potential competition concerns in the United Kingdom for one specific category, juice drinks in PET using a special aseptic production process that allows them to be sold preservative-free and without refrigeration. In the UK, the combined company produces these products in only two factories, Bridgwater (Refresco) and Nelson (Cott). Refresco is currently examining the details of the decision. Refresco is willing to offer suitable remedies and will fully cooperate with the CMA to address the concerns raised.

CEO Refresco, Hans Roelofs: “The initial investigation of the CMA did not find any competition concerns for most of our products. However, they have raised concerns for one specific product category produced by Refresco and Cott.

With the clearance we received earlier in the process from the U.S. and Canadian regulatory authorities and the overwhelming support from our shareholders, we are willing to propose remedies to the CMA to address this specific issue and put us on the right track to also obtain clearance in the UK. We continue to cooperate with the CMA in order to progress the acquisition and work towards a successful completion.”

A further update will be provided at the appropriate moment.

Low-sugar and GMO-free are top factors when deciding what to eat or drink

We asked 23,000 consumers online in 17 countries how important certain factors are, from a given list, when deciding what to eat or drink.

• Nearly half of consumers rate “low sugar or sugar-free” and “free from GMO ingredients” as very or extremely important, when deciding what to eat or drink
• Organic, pro-biotic, fortified and gluten-free products are more important to people aged under 40
• Income has some effect on people’s ratings, but gender does not
• Chinese are the most selective on what to eat and drink, out of 17 countries surveyed

Chinese are the most selective on what to eat and drink, out of 17 countries surveyed

In eight out of the nine decision factors researched, China tops the list for having the highest percentage placing importance on that item, when deciding what to eat or drink. The exception is for locally produced products, where Italy takes the lead.

Organic, pro-biotic, fortified and gluten-free products

Products which are organic, fortified with vitamins or minerals, pre- or pro-biotic or gluten-free are more important amongst people aged under 40 years old than amongst those aged 40 plus.

People aged 30-39 are the most selective, compared to other age groups

The most selective food and drink shoppers are those aged 30-39 years old. This group nearly always has the highest percentage rating each of the factors as “very” or “extremely” important.

Get your complimentary report: results for all 17 countries:
Download the GFK complimentary report of 80+ charts to see results for all 17 countries, by key demographics:
Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, Russia, South Korea, Spain, UK and USA.

www.gfk.com

Fresh orange production is estimated at 480,000 metric tons (MT) in 2017/18. Australia is a counter- seasonal exporter of mainly Navel oranges to north-Asian markets such as China and Japan while the United States exports Navel oranges during Australia’s off-season. Post forecasts orange exports to reach 230,000 MT in 2017/18. Orange juice production and concentrate imports are forecast to remain stable.

Production of fresh oranges is forecast at 480,000 metric tons (MT) in 2017/18, the same as the previous year, assuming average seasonal conditions. Australia is a counter-seasonal exporter of mainly Navel oranges to north-Asian markets such as China and Japan, as the United States exports Navel oranges during Australia’s off-season from December to February. Post forecasts orange exports of 230,000 MT for 2017/18. Post’s new export estimate is a 27 percent increase from 2016/17 driven mostly by an upsurge in demand from China. Imports of Navel oranges, mainly from the United States, are expected to be steady in 2017/18 at 20,000 MT.

Please read more under: gain.fas.usda.gov

The next generation of beer refreshment available in the Pacific Northwest in 2018

Radeberger Gruppe USA, an importer of brands of its parent company Radeberger Gruppe in Germany, the leading German brewing group, today announced its latest innovation in beer – Schöfferhofer Pomegranate – the world’s first Hefeweizen pomegranate beer.

A deliciously refreshing beverage option, Schöfferhofer Pomegranate is the latest line extension from Schöfferhofer, made of 50 % authentic unfiltered German Hefeweizen and 50 % pomegranate juice, and an alcohol by volume (ABV) of 2.5 % for a crisp taste that’s easy to drink.  Schöfferhofer Pomegranate follows the widely successful Schöfferhofer Grapefruit product to market, which has enjoyed tremendous growth since its debut in 2014, and is now available nationwide at grocery, c-stores and off-premise retail locations, as well as on-draught at restaurants and bars.

Schöfferhofer Pomegranate will be exclusively offered in 6-pack bottles to off-trade locations in the Pacific Northwest region, including Oregon, Washington and Utah beginning in January, 2018. This is the first time this beer is available in bottles; it is currently being served on-draught at Walt Disney World’s Epcot World Showcase, in the country of Germany, where park-goers have been enjoying the beer since earlier this year.

“We set out to meet the increasing consumer demand for more delicious, low alcohol options as evidenced by Schöfferhofer Grapefruit, and we’re excited about our latest innovation – Schöfferhofer Pomegranate,” said Armin Buehler, head of marketing of Radeberger Gruppe USA.  “The Pacific Northwest region is known for its adventurous culinary and lifestyle scene, and we’re excited to introduce this product to this area as a test market before rolling it out nationwide.”

All Oranges 46.0 Million Boxes

The 2017-2018 Florida all orange forecast released today by the USDA Agricultural Statistics Board is 46.0 million boxes, down 4.00 million boxes from the November forecast. If realized, this forecast will be 33 percent less than last season’s production and the least since the 1944-1945 season of 42.2 million boxes. The forecast consists of 19.0 million boxes of the non-Valencia oranges (early, midseason, and Navel varieties) and 27.0 million boxes of the Valencia oranges. Regression data used are from the 2007-2008 through 2016-2017 seasons. For those previous 10 seasons, the December forecast has deviated from final production by an average of 6 percent, with 8 seasons above and 2 below, with differences ranging from 16 percent below to 16 percent above. All references to “average”, “minimum”, and “maximum” refer to the previous 10 seasons unless noted.

Non-Valencia Oranges 19.0 Million Boxes

The forecast of non-Valencia production is lowered 2.00 million boxes to 19.0 million boxes. Current fruit size is below average and projected to be below average at harvest. Current droppage is above the maximum and is projected to be above the maximum until harvest. The Navel forecast, included in the non-Valencia forecast, is lowered to 500 thousand boxes, and is 3 percent of the non-Valencia total. Final Navel size is below average and droppage is well above the maximum.

Valencia Oranges 27.0 Million Boxes

The forecast of Valencia production is reduced 2.00 million boxes to 27.0 million boxes. If realized, this will be the smallest Florida Valencia crop since the 1949-1950 season. Current fruit size is below average and is projected to be below average at harvest. Current droppage is above the maximum and projected to be above the maximum at harvest.

All Grapefruit 4.65 Million Boxes

The forecast of all grapefruit production is unchanged at 4.65 million boxes. If realized, this forecast will be 40 percent less than last season’s production and the least recorded since the 1918-1919 season. The white grapefruit forecast is unchanged at 850 thousand boxes. The red grapefruit forecast is unchanged at 3.80 million boxes. Projected fruit size of white grapefruit at harvest is above average while projected droppage is above the maximum. Projected fruit size of red grapefruit at harvest is projected to be above average and droppage is projected to be above the maximum.

Please download the full citrus crop production forecast: www.nass.usda.gov

Total orange¹ crop forecast update is 385.20 million of boxes

The orange production forecast update of the São Paulo and West-Southwest of Minas Gerais citrus belt for the 2017-2018 season, published on December 11th, 2017 by Fundecitrus with the cooperation of Markestrat, FEA-RP/USP and FCAV/Unesp2 – is 385.20 million boxes, weighing 40.8 kg each. This figure corresponds to an increase of 2.98 % compared to the update published in September/2017 and an increase of 5.69 % in relation to the initial May/2017 forecast. Out of the total crop, about 29.43 million boxes are estimated for the Triângulo Mineiro region.

The data collected as of the publication of this forecast update show that the fruits harvested from all varieties in this season have an average weight above that of the initial forecasts. The forecast in May 2017 was that each fruit would weigh by harvest time an average of 154 grams; however, in September 2017, the unit weight rose to 158 grams and now is at 162 grams. The weight gain was the main reason which caused increased production in early varieties in September 2017 and continues to be the determining factor for the increase in mid-season and late varieties of this update. The fruit droppage rate is confirming to be high vis-à-vis the crop standards in the citrus belt, in line with the initial forecast, since the variation since May 2017 did not decrease even by half percent point from the estimated value. The positive result so far was triggered mainly by rainfall above historical levels at the beginning of the season, which again fell at producing regions in October, reaching an average of 147 mm, and 227 mm in November, after the drought which lasted from July to September, with only an accumulated total of 47 mm for the quarter, according to Somar Meteorologia’s weather forecast. In addition to the weather, the good performance of the harvest is related to greater intensity of crop management at the groves, which can be evidenced by the increased demand of inputs used in their nutritional and phytosanitary management as seen in the last year in citrus growing. …

¹ Hamlin, Westin, Rubi, Valencia Americana, Valencia Argentina, Seleta, Pineapple Pera Rio, Valencia, Valencia Folha Murcha and Natal.
² Exact Sciences Department, FCAV/Unesp Jaboticabal.

Please download the complete forecast: www.fundecitrus.com

Elopak announces Thomas Körmendi as new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and President of the Elopak Group, to join on 01 April 2018.

Thomas Körmendi is currently CEO at Kezzler AS, a Norwegian company working with the digitalization of packaging. Earlier in his career Thomas worked about twenty years at Tetra Pak in various international positions. His latest position in Tetra Pak was as Vice President and head of North Europe with 1200 employees and four multi country production plants.

“With the recruitment of Thomas Körmendi we have secured an international profile with solid knowledge of the industry to realize the strategic ambitions of the Elopak Group”, says John Giverholt, Chairman of the Elopak Board of Directors. “I look forward to the cooperation with Thomas to further develop and strengthen Elopak.”

Thomas Körmendi will be based at Elopak’s Group Headquarters in Skøyen, Oslo, Norway.

Frutarom Industries Ltd. (“Frutarom”) announces the acquisition, via one of its subsidiaries, of the AB-Fortis^® activities including a patent-protected micro-encapsulation technology that enables delivery of iron with increased biological absorption.

AB-Fortis is an advanced encapsulated iron system for delivering the recommended daily amount of iron in a single dose. It helps consumers avoid the common negative aspects and side effects of iron supplements, including metallic aftertaste, dental darkening, gastrointestinal upset, and nausea. AB-Fortis iron can be incorporated into fat-rich matrices, such as milk or yogurt, without causing oxidation. It is heat- and pH-stable. It will not accelerate oxidation of other components of a formulation, such as folate or omega-3 fatty acids. This makes it ideal for functional foods, infant nutrition and food supplements.

Iron deficiency constitutes a global health problem in developed and developing countries alike, and is particularly prevalent in children under the age of 6, for whom iron deficiency is associated with impaired psychomotor and cognitive development, as well as in pregnant women suffering from excess fatigue due to iron deficiency. Among these groups, the percentage of population suffering from iron deficiency reaches 20 % in developed countries and up to 60 % in some developing countries.

Frutarom acquired the technology and expanded its activity in the market after four years of experience developing applications in a wide range of food and beverage products.

With record breaking visitor numbers, Fi Europe & Ni (Frankfurt, Germany) was the place to be for decision makers, product developers, market strategists and scientists

A marketplace for innovation, a source of inspiration and a trend barometer. The world’s most important trade show for food and beverage ingredients, Fi Europe & Ni 2017 welcomed more visitors than ever before.

More than 26,000 attendees from over 135 nations worldwide used the three-day trade show to discover innovative new concepts and novel solutions. Boasting an abundance of excellent, high quality delegates, post-event analysis showed that almost 78 % of the attendees had budget responsibility, with approximately 30 % having higher management roles – an ideal mix to generate promising leads at more than 1,600 stands. In total, show organizer UBM recorded 50,000+ visits.

Oliver Wolf, Head of B2B Marketing at GELITA, gave a very positive review, stating: “The sheer volume of visitors at the GELITA stand was immense – and the overall quality of enquiries was very high. That’s why Fi Europe was, once again, the perfect setting for us to introduce our latest innovations in gelatine and collagen peptides to a broad expert audience.” Peter Hennebichler, Director Corporate Sales & Marketing at AGRANA, added: “We counted a record number of attendees at our stand this year. Because of the highly relevant contacts we make here, AGRANA has exhibited at FiE for many years.” Key players such as Cargill, FrieslandCampina, BENEO, Roquette, Avebe, Kerry and Naturex all presented innovative new products and solutions. In addition, several start-ups and first-time exhibitors used Fi Europe & Ni as a platform to further expand their brand.

Fi Europe Brand Director Richard Joyce’s conclusion was also positive. Sharing his excitement for the reservations numbers for the 2019 edition in Paris, he said “Currently, 80 % of the exhibitors have already booked a stand for the next show. This clearly indicates that Fi Europe & Ni is a must-attend event for food ingredient companies. We are already looking forward to 2019 and will do our utmost to arrange another top-class agenda.”

Value adding extras

Far more than just a supporting program, this year’s Fi Europe & Ni once again offered a variety of additional attractions, including 20+ country pavilions and themed areas – such as the Expo FoodTec Pavilion – and daily Innovation Tours. In the Industry Insights Theater and Supplier Solution Sessions, attendees were able to get up close and personal with interesting companies and their concepts. Furthermore, the New Product Zone and Ingredients in Action, hosted by Innova Market Insights, provided an overview on the latest products that made their way into consumers’ shopping carts.

With the second Future of Nutrition Summit, the pre-show one day summit, show organizer UBM EMEA offered detailed insight into the future of the industry; social and technological developments that will impact the ingredients industry during the next 5 years were put under the spotlight. In addition, the three-day Fi Conference covered everything from clean label to regulatory issues. Jennifer Arthur of Leatherhead Food Research introduced the possibilities and challenges of personalized nutrition, whereas Dr Laurice Pouvreau, Senior Project Manager, Protein Functionality at Nizo, explained how promising sensory results can be achieved by blending different protein sources. With more than 250 delegates, the conference program also reached a record-breaking number.

Post-show is pre-show: Hi Europe 2018 in Frankfurt, Fi Europe & Ni 2019 in Paris

Next year, Hi Europe will open its doors on November 27 in Frankfurt for three days. In times when functional ingredients with added health benefits are becoming increasingly important, Europe’s leading trade show for health and nutrition is the meeting place for manufacturers and decision makers in the food and nutraceuticals industry. The following year, Fi Europe & Ni will return to Paris (3–5 December 2019) and take place at the Parc des Expositions Villepinte.

The carbonated soft drink (CSD) sector in Australia is facing continued pressure amid consumer concerns about sugar. New research from global market intelligence agency Mintel reveals that total volume sales of Australia’s CSD category are expected to see a 2.3 % decline in 2017. In fact, CSD sales dipped 4.7 % in 2016 since 2014.

Mintel research indicates that negative sentiments towards sugar have driven many Australians to reconsider their sugar intake. One in three (34 %) metro Australian consumers^* say that they are limiting the amount of sugar/sugar substitutes in their diets, while three in 10 (29 %) are avoiding items with sweeteners. Furthermore, as many as three in five (58 %) Australians say they are limiting their consumption of sugar and sugar substitutes in an effort to to watch their weight, while over half (53 %) do so because of future health concerns (eg. developing diabetes).

Jenny Zegler, Global Food & Drink Analyst at Mintel, said:
“With concerns about obesity rates and overall health in Australia, many consumers are now focusing on sugar and sweetener content when choosing food and drink, with some limiting the amount of sugar or sweeteners in their diets. These concerns have especially taken a toll on Australia’s carbonated soft drinks category, which is forecast to see further sales declines by the end of 2017. Carbonated soft drink companies that seek to reconnect with consumers must take into account that concerns about sugar and sweeteners will continue to be a focal point for consumers moving forward.”

Indeed, it seems there is close scrutiny on the sugar content found in CSDs among Australian consumers; over a third of (35 %) metro Australians say that they check for the level of sugar/sweetener content in CSDs and 30% check for the types of sugar/sweeteners.
While personal preferences for or against sugar or specific sweeteners may vary by the individual, it appears that many Australians have a desire for more clarity around sugar content. More than three in five (64 %) metro Australians say they feel cheated when a company is not clear about the high sugar content of its products. What’s more, as many as three in four (76 %) agree that food and drink companies should make it easier to understand how much sugar is in their products.

Shelley McMillan, Trend & Innovation Consultant, ANZ, at Mintel said:
“Our research points to the necessity for simple and direct communication to reassure Australian consumers who are wary of their sugar consumption. To avoid consumer confusion or concern, products could define the amount and type of sugar or sweeteners on product labelling to ensure that consumers can easily understand the sugar content of food and drink. Currently, the provision of front-of-pack sugar descriptions by carbonated soft drink companies are few and far between. This challenges more companies to be transparent in their claims.”

Meanwhile, even though consumers are looking for reduced sugar products, innovation activity does not necessarily align with interest. According to Mintel Global New Products Database (GNPD), ‘low/no/reduced sugar’ is a claim carried by just 12 % of CSD product launches in Australia in the two years to October 2017^**. This is just below the already low global average of 15 % of CSD introductions launched globally in the same time period.
Finally, Mintel research shows that consumers think that manufacturers could be more aggressive in creating reduced-sugar formulations, with three in four (74%) metro Australians agreeing that food and drink companies should be doing more to reduce the amount of sugar in their products.

“Though there is a demand for reduced sugar food and drink products, companies are not doing enough when it comes to new product development. In fact, our research indicates that there is a definite opportunity for players in the carbonated soft drink industry to introduce more low, no or reduced sugar offerings into the Australian market. Another key way of enticing consumers to stay engaged with the category is for CSD brands to consider developing low, no or reduced sugar limited edition flavour offerings,” Jenny concludes.

^*1,406 internet users aged 18+ from major metropolitan cities in Australia, polled in 2017
^**November 2015 to October 2017

The world’s largest food and beverage ingredients show announces the winners of its coveted Innovation Awards for 2017.

A true barometer of food and beverage trends, the Fi Europe Innovation Awards honour research teams and product developers for their outstanding innovations and invaluable contributions to the industry. Mirroring the market, protein solutions featured high on the winners’ podium this year.

More hotly contested than ever before, the 2017 Awards were presented at a festive ceremony on 28 November at Messe Frankfurt, Germany. There were ten Fi Europe Innovation Awards categories, plus two Start-up Innovation Challenge categories. A total of 17 companies were shortlisted in the Fi Europe Innovation Awards and a further 10 in the Start-up Innovation Challenge.

The winners of the Fi Europe Innovation Awards 2017 are as follows:

The Sustainability Champion Award went to pioneering oils producer IOI Loders Croklaan for its sustainable and transparent supply chain strategy for palm oil.

The Organic Champion Award was won by herba ingredients, an allergen-free producer of organic rice flour for baby food that is fully traceable, from cultivation to final ingredient.

The Future of Nutrition Award (the only category open to non-Fi Europe exhibitors) was presented to Alberts for its Automated Smoothie Machine, Europe’s first fresh smoothie vending machine – now in use at Carrefour outlets in Belgium.

The Clean Label & Natural Innovation Award went to Ingredion, who convinced the jury with its clean label-compatible functional rice flour for use in soups, sauces and ready meals.

Winner of the Life Stages Innovation Award was Novozymes, a leader in biological solutions, for its Formea^® milk proteins – a promising ingredient for infant formulas with a reduced risk of allergic reactions.

The Performance Nutrition Innovation Award went to ARLA Food Ingredients for its taste-neutral whey protein isolate for use in protein-enriched sports drinks that are as crystal-clear as water.

The Growth Categories Innovation Award was won by ERIE Foods International for its low-fat milk protein crisps. Containing 90 percent protein, these can be consumed as they are or used as an ingredient in bars and breakfast cereals.

The Reduction & Reformulation Innovation Award went to DSM for an innovative cheese culture that makes it possible to reduce the fat content of cheese by up to 
30 percent and still maintain the texture and mouthfeel of full fat cheese.

For the Expo FoodTec Innovation Award there was no winner, but the company Handary received a high commendation for its biodegradable antimycotic protective film that prevents mould growth in solid, packaged food.

Start-up Innovation Challenge winners

The Best Innovation Award went to Chromologics, a biotech company spun out from the Technical University of Denmark in July this year. Its first product is ChromoRed, a water-soluble, natural red pigment produced from a proprietary non-GMO fungal strain.

The Best Natural Ingredient Award was won by Swiss start-up Alver for Golden Chlorella^TM , a protein-rich, nutrient-dense sustainable micro-algae.
Richard Joyce, Fi Europe Brand Director, and Awards Jury chairman Peter Wennstöm of The Healthy Marketing Team led the celebrations and presented the awards.

Commending the winners for their achievements and successes, Richard Joyce said: “The theme of Fi Europe 2017 is ‘Thought Leadership’, and reflecting this, our Awards winners are concrete proof of how those who are experts in their fields can push boundaries and pave the way for the development of solutions that satisfy consumer demands and drive new trends.”

Peter Wennstöm added his congratulations, saying: “The jury was thoroughly impressed by the diverse ways in which companies are mastering current challenges and trends, such as with all natural and plant-based solutions. The high calibre of the entries as well as the jury members, who had expertise in every field of the industry, are both proof of the quality of the Fi Europe Awards.”

SIG outlines three new ways to add value to food and beverage producers

To help food and beverage producers meet increasing industry demands, SIG has created three value-adding segments as part of its Value Proposition.

Built around SIG’s new company promise of ‘Excellence – Engineered. Solutions – Delivered’, this dedicated framework allows the company to demonstrate the value it brings to customers and consumers by outlining its core capabilities and solution-driven approach to solving current and future challenges.

With three clearly-defined segments that represent distinct themes within the food and beverage industry, SIG is well placed to help its customers realise opportunities for performing better and growing faster in an ever-changing global and local market.

“Global changes are reinventing the way we live and work,” said Rolf Stangl, CEO of SIG. “Digitalisation, urbanisation, a growing middle class and more on-the-go lifestyles are just some of the megatrends dramatically impacting the food and beverage industry. But these new trends and demands are also creating new opportunities. And together with SIG, our customers can be ready for the challenges and possibilities that lie ahead.”

SIG’s three main value-adding segments include Product Innovation & Differentiation, Smart Factory and Connected Pack. Product Innovation & Differentiation means SIG is delivering innovative product and packaging solutions that go beyond standard packaging and enable customers to satisfy ever-changing needs and capitalise on current and future market trends.

Smart Factory, meanwhile, demonstrates how SIG is continually innovating its systems to fully integrate into IoT landscapes and deliver technical services that transform filling plants into connected factories securing the highest efficiency, flexibility and quality for customers.

Finally, Connected Pack outlines how SIG is using new digital coding technologies and unique track-and-trace solutions to ensure 100% connectivity and transparency, as well as greater digital interaction and engagement, within every single pack.

Within these three value-adding segments, SIG has outlined eight key solution areas that cover a range of customer challenges and ambitions as part of a fully customised approach.

“This is an exciting time for SIG as we look to fulfil our new company promise of ‘Excellence – Engineered. Solutions – Delivered’,” added Rolf Stangl. “With our Promise and Value Proposition, SIG is the perfect partner for our customers. We can turn their challenges into opportunities, while translating their ambitions into actionable work packages and solutions. We do this through an intelligent, holistic approach to their business needs. So, with our three ways to add value, we can always be sure of meeting customer needs and helping them realise new opportunities.”

Increased quality and a greater focus on digitisation in factories are two key trends identified in a recent global survey of 120 decision-makers in the international food and beverage industry.

The research, carried out by food and drink IT specialist CSB-System, revealed that respondents were optimistic about future prospects, expecting the economic situation for their businesses to pick up in the years to come. As part of this, half of them specified quality, freshness and innovations as key drivers in defining product leadership.

Although quality is seen as the biggest driver for success, two thirds of decision makers highlighted prices as the most significant challenge, with many sectors affected by high raw material prices, which are difficult to pass onto the trade or end-consumer.

Legal requirements in terms of food safety, labelling and traceability were also an area of concern, the most recent example at EU level being the regulation on the provision of food information to consumers and the mandatory nutrition declaration. Another important consideration is the requirement among retailers for permanent product availability and prompt response times.

In these circumstances, respondents identified three business areas in particular where there was greatest potential for improvement – sales and marketing, production and intralogistics and information technology. In particular, enhanced IT systems were seen as critical in helping to reduce costs, effectively manage complex operations and improve overall responsiveness.

Looking to the future, the decision makers forecast an increasing focus on both value and sustainability in the food sector. As well as mass market products, high-price segments would also gain in importance, with the combination of cutting-edge technologies and traditional crafts allowing the introduction of a new generation of quality foods elaborately prepared and manufactured.

Hermann Schalk, head of sales at CSB-System, says this trend, together with the need to focus on costs, will lead to the growing importance of effective IT.
“We still expect the downward pressure on prices to persist, therefore cost reductions are necessary,” he explains. “This must not adversely affect product quality, which is not necessarily the case. Our experience is that there is plenty of optimisation potential in the processes, mainly through digitisation.”

The full study can be downloads at info.csb.com/us-en/downloads.

New stage of action wants to mobilize adults and children in urban areas to help fight the disease.

The Brazilian Citriculture Defense Fund is working hard to promote the campaign United Against Greening. Now, the campaign extends to the citrus belt urban areas, areas where, at first, there is no management of the disease. The new stage of the work wants to mobilize the population of these areas, and in rural areas as well, where there are no commercial groves, as it’s the case of small farms and ranches.

In order to do that, Fundecitrus has hired a new team, which is developing actions in these places. One of them is the replacement of orange and lemon trees with other fruit varieties. The teams have visited homes and schools as well, to talk about the campaign. The actions to exchange the plants are carried out through home visits, and have the support of lectures for students and teachers of municipal schools, production of printed materials and cars with sound system to bring information to the community. So far more than 2,000 plants have been exchanged. “Citrus and myrtle plants in towns make it difficult to fight citrus greening on commercial properties. Developing this work in areas with no management is extremely important due to the destructive potential of the disease, “says Fundecitrus agronomist, Mr. Ivaldo Sala, work coordinator.

The teams work in partnership with town halls and companies to exchange myrtles, and orange, lemon and mandarin trees contaminated with citrus greening, which hasn’t received the chemical control recommended, for other fruit and ornamental trees. The psyllid, citrus greening transmitting insect, when feeding on orange, lemon and mandarin trees infected with the disease, it acquires the bacterium and starts to spread it. The insect travels long distances, leaves the urban area and arrives in the rural area, contaminating the groves.

Chr. Hansen’s Chief Executive Officer Cees de Jong has informed the Company that after having led Chr. Hansen as CEO for almost 5 years, he intends to pursue a career as a non-executive director outside Chr. Hansen in due course.

The Company has initiated a process to find his replacement, and until then Cees de Jong will continue as CEO of Chr. Hansen.

Ole Andersen, Chairman of the Company’s Board of Directors, says: “Cees has done a tremendous job for Chr. Hansen and its shareholders, employees and other stakeholders. Together with the Corporate Leadership Team, Cees has steered the Company while delivering in accordance with our financial goals, helped develop an ambitious strategy and been a driving force behind our initiatives to pursue new growth opportunities. Chr. Hansen will be in a much stronger shape when Cees leaves, than when he arrived. We have several new and exciting prospects. I therefore look forward to identifying and appointing a new CEO for Chr. Hansen among the very strong candidates there will naturally be for this attractive position.”

Cees de Jong says: “Chr. Hansen has a unique competence base and strong growth prospects, and it is, and has been, a privilege to be the CEO since 2013. The Company and its employees have been creating excellent results and are continuing to deliver on the “Nature’s No. 1” strategy, turning Chr. Hansen into a true global microbial solutions company. While I am choosing now to pursue a different career, I will continue fully dedicated in my role as CEO for Chr. Hansen until my replacement has been found”.

FrieslandCampina announced a comprehensive reorientation in the German market. Central to the strategic refocus are considerable investments in its core brands, such as Landliebe, Tuffi and Frico, a bundling of its commercial activities in the Düsseldorf area and other measures to improve profitability. The measures include the closure of the plant in Gütersloh, which will affect 231 employees. These efforts should result in restoring the profitability within three years.

Jan Kruise, Managing Director of FrieslandCampina Germany: ‘The German market for dairy products is fragmented and characterised by fierce competition due to overcapacities. We are convinced we will be able to master these challenges by focusing on our strong brands and through strictly consumer-oriented management of our product portfolio. We are the only company with a substantial presence in all dairy categories and channels, and we will benefit from this competitive advantage by proving ourselves a preferred partner in the market in accordance with our strategy. In order to achieve our ambitious goals we will invest in our business and we will not shy away from difficult decisions that will open up the path to a successful future for the long term. We are here to stay.’

New commercial impulses from the transfer to the Düsseldorf area in North Rhine-Westphalia

North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) has historically been a key region for FrieslandCampina. Many member farmers are based there and Tuffi is a strong local brand. Kruise: ‘By relocating and consolidating commercial functions to the Düsseldorf area we expect FrieslandCampina to benefit from the strong talent base in the area and to drive the Germany strategy more effectively.’ NRW is an important centre of consumer product and food industries. The affected commercial employees from Heilbronn and Cologne, totalling 74, will learn more about the opportunities at the new location in the context of the talks with the Works Council which are due to start very shortly. The transfer is scheduled for the second quarter of 2018. The employees have been informed about the plans today. The plants in Heilbronn, Cologne and Schefflenz as well as their workforce numbering 366, 326 and 23 respectively, will not be affected by the intended move.

Closing Gütersloh site

The closing of the site in Gütersloh is a consequence of overcapacities in the highly fragmented German market and of years of loss-making production of private label desserts that make up the major part of the Gütersloh volumes. This category will be discontinued, while other product lines will be transferred to the plants in Cologne, Heilbronn and Maasdam in the Netherlands. Gütersloh processes German milk.

The impact of the closing of the site on the available processing capacity of FrieslandCampina will be negligible. The planned closure of production in Gütersloh is scheduled for March 2019 and the employees involved were informed today. ‘This was a tough decision to make’, Kruise emphasised, ‘but previous attempts to fix the problems have failed and after careful consideration of alternative solutions the continued loss-making situation, unfortunately, has left us no other choice. We will of course very shortly enter into consultation with the employee representatives and we will do everything that is within our power to help the affected employees find new jobs elsewhere.’